The heart of a bit
by IluthraDanar
Summary: I love Bit! Yes, the small companion of both Clu and Flynn. From Bit's POV. Comments welcome!


**I loved little Bit from the old film Tron. I felt so sorry for him in the scene when Flynn has crashed the Recognizer, and just after he fell out of it, Bit tried to follow him, but he got stuck behind the window screen. I have used some lines from the film, to which I acknowledge the script writers.**

**I do not own Tron or Bit**

**The heart of a bit **

Software Engineer Kevin Flynn busily worked on his latest project, a program he called Clu. He was excited about this one, since it would be a troubleshooter. And he had accounts that were giving him trouble. When he had added the last subroutines, and hit the "enter" key, a diminutive piece of data emerged from Clu. A new life was born, and it was called Bit.

Bit was Clu's companion and advisor. Not that Clu needed advising. He was the best program Kevin Flynn had ever written. But as a hacker program, Clu spent many cycles roaming the databases of various companies on behalf of his User, and Bit kept him from feeling alone.

Bit loved traveling around the different systems with his program. Whenever Clu asked him a question, he would answer with 'yes' or 'no', the limit of his responses. Yet he and his program had no trouble communicating. After all, they were part of one another.

One day, Clu told Bit that they were to go into uncharted territory in search of hidden data that Clu's User needed badly. This would be a priority directive. Bit was eager to join the hunt, and flitted excitedly around the interior of the patrol tank they rode in. He scanned and calculated, ready to respond to any queries given him by his program.

"Do you think we can merge with this memory, Bit?" Clu asked.

In a microsecond, Bit had determined the data was ordered enough to make it easy for them to slip in with it. "Yes," he pulsed.

He waited as his program steered their tank into the corridor, blending in with the data stream. Bit watched from within as the tank turned into another corridor and out onto the Grid. He heard his program say "Uh oh, we've got company."

"A Recognizer!" his program cried out.

Bit knew that they were in trouble now. He had seen it, and lots more. "Yes yes yes yes yes," he repeated excitedly. His program was an excellent shot, but with so many Recognizers out there, the odds were definitely against them. Apparently, his program felt the same way.

"There's too many of them!" The lone tank, followed by a flotilla of Recognizers, headed to a side corridor, where they ran into yet another of the flying vehicles. Clu aimed and fired, bringing the vehicle right on top of them. The tank hit debris, causing it to slam into the wall. Bit had never heard his program react with such fear. Once the hatch to their tank was opened, both Bit and his program exited, Bit circling his now very vulnerable program.

Clu yelled at Bit, "Get out of here!", and while Bit was loathe to leave his program, he followed his orders, uttering "Yes yes yes" over and over. Flying overhead, Bit searched for a place to hide, as he watched his program captured by one of the hated vehicles used by the MCP. Even Bit knew that the Master Control Program was responsible for the conditions of the system and the Games Grid.

Bit circled the area, and decided to wait for the return of his program here. He found a place inside the damaged Recognizer, and settled in a dark corner. He didn't know what he would do if Clu did not come back. A bit needed his program to be fully functional, otherwise he was nothing more than a piece of floating data, unable to do anything. If a bit could cry, Bit would have done so. Instead, he could only wait.

O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-

How long had it been since his program had been taken away? Bit could calculate time, but he couldn't feel the passage of it. He sensed two presences, and hid deeper in his corner. They were programs, he could tell that. But he didn't want to reveal himself to them. Not just yet. So Bit waited in silence. A microcycle later, one of the programs rose, and instantly, the damaged Recognizer floated piece by piece into the air, reuniting broken parts, until it was practically whole again. Bit watched as they took off, where to, he had no idea. They soon stopped, and within moments, one of the programs, obviously damaged in some way, de-rezzed. As Bit ventured closer, sensing something very familiar about this one, he saw with relief and joy, his own program Clu, who was trying to make use of the unbalanced Recognizer.

He saw Bit hover over to him. "Hey! Hold it right there," his program ordered.

Of course, Bit obeyed, responding with a happy "yes".

"What do you mean, yes." his program asked.

Why didn't he know? Had the MCP done something to damage his program's memory? He again responded, "Yes!"

"Is that all you can say?" was what he got in return.

"Confused, Bit answered, "No." His program seemed the same, yet somehow...different.

"Know anything else?"

Why was he being treated this way? "Yes," he uttered, quite put out.

"Positive and negative, huh. You're a bit."

How could his program not know who he was? After all, hadn't he been made from his program's own data? "Yes," he replied.

"Well, where's your program? Isn't he gonna miss you?"

"No," Bit answered sadly.

"I'm your program?"

"Yes," he responded tentatively. Maybe his program didn't want him around anymore.

"Another mouth to feed," he heard.

"Yes yes yes," he repeated, happy now that his program seemed to accept him once more.

Together, Bit and his program journeyed rather awkwardly down the corridors of the system. Perhaps, his program had more skill with a tank than a Recognizer. At one point, he asked Bit if his driving was good, to which Bit answered honestly, "No." They stumbled along, breaking pieces off the already broken vehicle. As they came upon a tank on a bridgeway, Bit anxiously started uttering 'no no no", trying to alert his program, who was paying him little attention. The bridgeway cracked, and the tank fell to the ground below. The Recognizer began to fall apart, but somehow Bit's program was able to re-piece it back together.

"This baby doesn't handle so good in town," his program remarked, desperately trying to keep the unstable craft level.

Bit had to agree. "No." Where were they even going? Seeing his program trying to determine how to operate the Recognizer by stepping on various lights, Bit had to keep saying, "No"

"What's this do?" he asked Bit, stepping on one section of the floor.

"No."

"How 'bout this one?"

"No, no!"

They flew over the heads of a group of inoperative data pushers, nearly decapitating a few. His program finally lost all control of the craft. Bit could only shout, "No no no no" and hover protectively over his oddly inept companion. "We need to stop this thing."

Finally they would end this ridiculous journey. "Yes!"

"I'm glad you agreeeee," his program shouted, as the Recognizer was taken apart, level by level, until only the bridge remained. Bit watched as his program was thrown out of the control room, and onto the ground in front. He attempted to join him, but the unit began to seal itself off. Bit saw his own chance to escape, a sliver of open area near the bottom of the viewing window. He headed for it, but before he could get through, it sealed completely, and he was left inside, apart from his program once more.

Bit vibrated with fear and sadness. With a chirp of dismay, he flew off into the darkness of the control room. As he hovered in the empty space, he decided to settle quietly. His program had found him once before. He would find him again. And Bit would be waiting. If it took 1000 cycles, Bit would wait.

**A/N:** **Watch the scene in the original Tron, if you can. *sniff* I know, I tend to anthropomorphize critters. Comments welcome.**


End file.
